I took the UK government deal of 6 months grace for MOT test due to covid  over 6 months ago, it is now well overdue, MOT is our yearly  check or test for vehicles.

Right hand side bed wheel arch is rusty with holes, this here is a no pass, truck has wheel arch extenders but I had to remove the rears to get the liners out to get to fit the 5th wheel hitch and decided to sort the rust before putting the spats back on.

I got both bed sides from rockauto a while ago so once I'd cut the rust out I could see it needed inner wheel well panels, I couldn't find any for a 1998 truck so ordered for a gen 3 BUT I ordered the wrong panels DOH!!! I order the inner panels wheel well panels not the outer wheel well panels so I got sheet steel and set about making what I needed.

I should have just bought panels, got it to be close enough as it will be covered by a new outer bed side repair panel anyway, 4 different curves/bends to deal with in one piece, just waiting for the rust convertor to dry then trim the new outer to fit and  paint the wheel well and bed side inner with weld through primer and then weld on the new outer, got the left side to do then  

It sucks you have to go through all this BS living overseas. 

14 minutes ago, Dieselfuture said:

It sucks you have to go through all this BS living overseas. 

Be no different if you wanted stuff for say a Landover though... Companies over there charge a fortune for imported land rovers But the question begs why would you want one of those pieces of junk ?.. It is a lot better than it used to be ebays Global Shipping Program is great plus a lot of sellers now add the tax to the bill so no phone call from our tax office for payment before they release the items 

Looks like your on the right track fixing that rust, after 18 years my truck finally showed a rust spot about the size of a dollar bill in the lower door corner, it’s not all the way through yet but just starting to bubble and flake, I’ll be cutting it out and welding in a new patch, luckily it’s in the rocker panel area where it will be easy to paint match. 

 

Keep us posted on your progress 

When I first got my truck it was starting to show signs of rust in hard to reach and see places like inside fender wells, rockers... I got one of them air operated sprayers, that should dip one end into whatever and the tool to the air compressor when you pull the trigger it creates vacuum and sucks. I use cheapest motor oil I could find and spray everything in my truck that I could get to. I believe after 10 years of owning it I slowed it way down, but here at some point I will need to start addressing it. Have this crazy idea of painting it camo, like I did my old toy truck I'll be easy to touch up.

I'm still rust free for the most part. A bit creeping in around the door seems. But the rear fenders I've been washing out since day one. It might be easier to order the entire bed side. Like back in the day I use to work in a body shop and did all the tear down. I would drill out all the spot welds. Then seperate the bed skin and the fix the wheel well. Then prep it for the new skin and get it close then hand it off to my boss and let him finalize the body and paint. 

1 hour ago, Mopar1973Man said:

I'm still rust free for the most part. A bit creeping in around the door seems. But the rear fenders I've been washing out since day one. It might be easier to order the entire bed side. Like back in the day I use to work in a body shop and did all the tear down. I would drill out all the spot welds. Then seperate the bed skin and the fix the wheel well. Then prep it for the new skin and get it close then hand it off to my boss and let him finalize the body and paint. 

Bed side shipped to the UK would be more than the cost of a replacement truck   the 2 panels I ordered wrong were the inner wheel well panels (gen 3)  I needed the outer wheel well panels, these cost near £200 to my door, luckily here gen 3 rams seem to dissolve faster than a sugar cube so these will sell on, the short bed side repair panels were around £250 to my door and the place I got them from off of ebay charge way more now to ship to the uk so they must have got burned on the shipping.

 

I spent 3 hours today looking for my lead loading kit which I bought 20 years ago for a Plymouth Roadrunner I had but never used it in the end as the car got wrote off in a flood, couldn't find it.... ordered another   bet I find it next week while looking for something else